The CW's Fall Schedule: Major Shake-Up as Supernatural, Hart of Dixie and 2 Others Shift to New Timeslots, Nikita's Final Season Delayed

The CW, last but not least, on Thursday morning revealed its primetime line-up for the 2013-14 TV season, and it features changes on every night.

The biggest moves: Supernaturalis shifting to Tuesdays at 9/8c, paired with the Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals; Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast are relocating to Monday night; The Carrie Diaries is Friday-bound; and Nikita‘s final six-episode season will unspool sometime “late in the fall,” network boss Mark Pedowitz tells TVLine.

Also of note: Greg Berlanti and Julie Plec’s new sci-fi saga Tomorrow People has snagged the post-Arrow slot on Wednesdays at 9/8c, while period drama Reign has been slotted behind Vampire Diaries on Thursdays.

I totally agree!!! IM really happy they are moving to another night!!!! I watch all those shows….I really ENJOYED Carrie Diaries…..I thought it was really good. I am not young haha, but really enjoyed watching it. I hope other people give it a chance, especially Sex and the City fans.

Actually, Mondays and Fridays are The CW’s dumphole. Hart of Dixie might survive despite brutal contenders, but B&B will die for sure, hopefully (can’t stand the show, or its fans). The Carrie Diaries has just received its death sentence, and just shows us how little faith the CW has on them.

Actually yeah, how dare they!! Season 2 was PERFECT and had an amazing ending which could have been the series ending but they renewed Nikita, let it reinvent itself, got us all excited again but for what? season (less good than previous two) and 6 episode which will not do the series justice? it can’t end properly with 6 episodes?!! so gee, thanks CW for taking away the perfect ending and renewing and screwing with it. I’m done.

It would be, but then The Originals would be up against Grey’s Anatomy and Glee… Still, I think it would’ve been the best choice, like when Angel spun-off from Buffy, and they paired the two together until Buffy switched networks. I would’ve happily cancelled Glee on my PVR for the Originals, but it would also have meant missing The Crazy Ones, for me.

can you move supernatural up at eight on Tuesdays and tomorrow people on Fridays at eight can you put general hospital on Mondays at nine and y and r on Thursdays at nine can put fox bones to move to the cw and on Mondays at eight its a great fit for the cw for the cw line can you help me out thank you so much

Fridays are not competitive. The difference is that CW viewers tend to watch Friday shows at equal numbers within 3 days via on-demand, DVR, and streaming mediums. (Actually CW viewers tend to watch and re-watch all programming if not live, then within 3 days, and certainly within 5 – a trend that hasn’t been fully recognised by the Nilsen ratings system until recently).

Frankly, I cannot stand The Carrie Diaries and preferred Emily Owens. Alas, why whinge over cancelled shows? Let’s hope for the best on the new slate. This is the 3rd time The Tomorrow People is being adapted for television in under 20 years and The Originals is starting where Angel went off the rails (at the Darla/Connor or is it Cordelia/Jasmine babyboremeline). BaTB has fewer viewers than Secret Circle and is at Emily Owens numbers. Basically, CW is returning with what has to be Supernatural’s final season, Arrow, and TVD as the only shows holding up the entire network.

It is not SPN final season as Carver has an idea to take it to at least season 10 and from an interview from the CW president he has no intention of letting it go anytime soon.
@Dewsterling– SPN did well on Fridays and was bumped to a coveted spot on Wednesdays for doing quite well and do not let anything fool you into thinking it is not holding up the network as well. Have you gone to Comic Con? Since it first went to Comic on its fans have grown and they went from one of the smallest rooms at Comic Con to one of the biggest in Hall H and every seat was filled with SPN fans and more waiting outside who could not get in. SPN has a wide fan-base that is very diverse. As for HOD and BATB they have found their niche and solid ground to build upon.

Which is why they really really need to look at re-adding Veronica Mars to their line-up for the 2014-2015 season after the movie. VM had the numbers that SPN and TVD have now when they canceled it. After a revival via Kickstarter, continuing on would be wonderfully glorious! ;-D

Fox is reviving 24 so it would not be unheard of and at the time of cancellation VM I believe had around 6 million viewership, but it was cancelled in lieu of bringing back Seventh Heaven for an 11th season. I love SPN do not know much about TVD.

The Carrie Diaries makes the most sense with America’s Next Top Model. I much prefer that pairing to ANTM with Nikita. That was just random. I really don’t understand not putting the Originals with The Vampire Diaries. The only people who are going to watch are TVD fans and even then, not all TVD fans will watch as not everyone was crazy about the originals. I see this being cancelled after season one.

I think it was a smart move The Orgunals were just using TVD as a jumping off point,it isn’t meant for the TVD fandom as a whole just for the ones who like the mythology but grew tired of the shippers, the love triangle and the Damon fan club… I think it will surpass TVD in viewers.

The Originals seems to be geared toward an older audience than The Vampire Diaries, and to skew more adult in many ways, and more toward mainstream movie vampire themes. It won’t have any trouble as a self-starter. In fact, CW made this move based on the show’s strength.

I looked most forward to Star Crossed and they set it midseason!????? Unbeliveable!
Hate they moved HoD again that was the way they destroyed 90210. But it’s interesting that The Originals won’t air after VD! Reign must be pretty good if they believe to put it in that timeslot. Doubt the Carrie Diaries will have a lot of success in the riday time slot but let’s see!

I totally agree, It wouldn’t make sense to pair 2 strong shows together when it makes much more sense to boost the ratings of a not so strong show by pairing it with a show with a strong following like Vampire Diaries. I’d think the goal is to boost the all around ratings and not just 1 night. It also shows they have a much higher opinion of The Originals because they didn’t pair it with the show most of it’s viewers will come from, this definitely tells me they loved the pilot.

I semi agree with U both! Remember Nikita and BatB where highly anticipated good shows which got this spot. And after year 1 each got solid spots for onward. Let’s see how it will happen. I will through a look at it. Grey’s got a bit boring at that slot.

I agree, I thought all these Celebrity competition shows and Singing competition shows would be a fad that died out quickly, but boy was I wrong. I do like Survivor enough to DVR it and watch the whole thing over a few nights, but Dancing with the Stars, American Idol and all those other reality shows are garbage.

Blame social media. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook…etc. if you don’t watch reality shows live then chances are you’re going to be spoiled as to the results and reviews of the performances. Personally I TiVo them but I know a lot of people who hate having to read about results before they’ve seen the performances. So I do understand that.

I think this is why the Dancing With the Stars Results show was cancelled; I know if I miss seeing the show live and read about the results (and it’s SO tempting when you see the spoiler blogs!), I just skip watching it later. On the other hand, the Dancing With the Stars actual dancing show, I will watch regardless…who cares about the opinions of others on this? The fun part is to actually watch the dancing.

I agree also. If there is a choice people watch reality or they find out what happened. Scripted get the shaft so the networks think more reality is better even thlugh people still watch scripted, just in other ways.

It’s a very crowded night, and I think they win a lot of people at 8pm, but might be worried about losing people at 9pm. i.e., TVD as a lead in isn’t effective enough to warrant further overcrowding an already crowded timeslot.

It makes me very, very sad that apparently the show’s (few) fans are going to be left permanently hanging. Even if they don’t get an advertising sponser, it would be a goodwill gesture to let people see the rest of the already-shot 13 episodes on line. The show really does make sense the further you get into it, and it has less to do with the tv-show-within-a-show than with a very insidious real life cult that is a generation old that has seeped into the present, with tentacles as deep as the Joe Carroll cult on FOX’s “The Following.”

At any rate, this experience will make me very reluctant to watch new CW shows that have low ratings — I was wary at first but then relaxed into the idea that we would get the whole run when it got past the first 3-4 shows. (Even “Do No Harm” and “Zero Hour” are finishing their initial 13 episode runs this summer — they were pulled last winter after 2-3 episodes.) We know that is very unlikely to happen on the CW since they don’t have a Saturday night slot that they need to fill with burnoff shows. Any medium would do…a streaming service, online availability, even DVDs — just some way to finish this show that became incredibly compelling just before it was pulled for good.

P.S. There is one additional episode available on tv.com that is not available on the CW website.

THIS Friday and for three weeks after that they will air two episodes a night!!! They are allowing viewers to finish the show but remember they’re just the last six episodes they were allowed to film so that doesn’t necessarily mean it will leave us with anymore answers than last time. I love CULT but this makes me reluctant to watch. I want it to have an ending!!!

It is going to be very interesting to see how this time slot plays out in terms of ratings. It is my guess that that NCIS, SHIELD, and The Originals will all have a lot of viewers, and the uptick on DVR, online, and on demand viewing will be huge. Personally, I plan to watch all of them. SHIELD might be the least likely for me if it were not for Joss Whedon at the helm, but his history has shown us that whatever he is doing is not to be missed. Like, I said, this is going to be a very interesting timeslot.

Since I was planning to watch Agents of Shield on Tuesday, I am okay with this time slot change.. Sounds like it;’s back to the watch Hart of Dixie live, and watch HIMYM online since it’s shorter thing. Unless I get a DVR soon, and if I do, I will watch later HIMYM the same night. Also it is not too bad to occasionally watch HIMYM live and watch HOD on Hulu. I am guess like usual, HIMYM is premiering earlier in the season but time shall tell.

A DVR trick that’s useful? Start watching, say, HoD about fifteen minutes into the show via the DVR playback and by the end of the “hour” you’ll have caught up to the show, having skipped the commercials. Then it’s on to HIMYM or whatever.

When I don’t time shift entrely that’s what I do.

Many, many DVRs these days have multiple tuners/channel recording ability. One of mine has 4! A very appreciated thing what with all the shannanigans the broadcasters get up to these days piling my popular shows all on top of each other.

Especially on Thursdays! Thursdays has been a maniac night for a few years now. I don’t have a dual-tuner DVR but I take advantage of timeshifting. However, this past year I couldn’t even watch Big Bang Theory as I already watched Vampire Diaries, Last Resort and I can’t remember what else conflicted with it.

Wow, insulting much? Practically EVERY show on the CW has a romantic angle (except MAYBE SPN, but don’t tell that to the Destiel shippers). That’s how the CW is. And since I watch over half the shows on the network, I’m in a pretty good place to know. Quirky Southern town hi jinks paired with supernatural action romance seems odd to me. Get over it.

It seems odd to me as well. Wholesome vs vampires. That could easily trump romance vs non-romance. I watch Vampire Diaries but not Heart of Dixie (couldn’t deal with all that cutesy). But it is mattering less and less what is paired with what, since all but the most casual viewers know what they want to watch and switch channels and/or DVR etc. to find it.

Sorry, I misspoke myself here, and would remove my comments above if the site would let me. I looked at the schedule and previous posts incorrectly and thought Hart of Dixie had been paired with The Vampire Diaries. It does seem a pretty good pairing to put Hart of Dixie and Beauty and the Beast together. Both are very romantic, and BATB might get some extra viewers spilling over from Hart of Dixie. BATB is not nearly as dark as The Vampire Diaries, and is far more romantic, and completely compatible with Hart.

The WB launched Felicity by pairing it with Buffy, and Charmed with Dawson’s Creek, and Smallville with Gilmore Girls… It’s not so much whether it’s a genre show or not, it’s more about audience crossover. Both HoD and BATB do well with women 18-34 (HoD’s actually been beating Arrow in that demographic), so it makes sense to pair them.

Exactly! Seems like a stupid move on CW’s part to cut off a show that was so close to syndication. Unless the minimum has been lowered and we just don’t know it. 6 is such a random number. What about the usual 12/13?

Plenty of shows have gone into syndication with fewer than 80 episodes. What this move very likely means is that more episodes of Nikita have little value to the CW due to the show’s shockingly poor performances this season. It also seems likely that they are having trouble finding a valuable syndication deal for it and are kind of cutting their losses by limiting the number of additional episodes so severely. After all, if they thought they could make a nice profit off of Nikita, wouldn’t they want more than just six more episodes? Possibly the CW has a deal with Netflix or Hulu or whatever that Nikita is given a proper ending and that’s why the few extra episodes were ordered–to allow the show to tie up story threads.

I’m glad it’s coming back, I’m just pissed they split Arrow and Supernatural up. I loved Wednesdays. This just makes my Tuesdays even harder. Of course, Supernatural is my favorite show on TV so it will take priority over everything.

VERY strong lineup every night of the week….with three awesome shows ready to step in to avoid long stretches of repeats. What more could you ask for? This is the best overall lineup in CW network history…really, not a weak link anywhere.

The CW continues to treat Nikita like crap. They screwed us with announcing renewal a week before Upfronts, everyone fretted over the episode order from then on, now they confirm that not only is it only 6 episodes, but they’re delaying it to midseason? If it’s that little, why the hell push it back to midseason? I don’t get why this network hates Nikita so much.

What a tool you are. From your name, I see you’re just an overzealous fan…but you need perspective. The CW loves Nikita…but the fact is, it has never been a ratings hit and it’s expensive to produce. The fact that it has gotten this many seasons OR a chance to wrap up the series in style is a testament to the CW’s respect for the show. How you interpret that as hate is just mystifying. They’re obviously holding it to showcase the final six episodes when one of the long-term shows goes on hiatus. You really need to learn the business of TV before spouting such nonsense.

Except that Nikita is a hit internationally, so NO. I’m not an overzealous fan, I’m a viewer who is sick and tired of this network treating crappy shows like gold. We don’t need more high school shows or vampire shows. They’re juvenile.

Sorry but what network do you think you’re watching? The CW has always been directed towards a younger demographic. I’ve been mad at them over the years for how they’ve treated a few shows but honestly… Nikita is not one of them. I can’t believe it’s made it this far but I’m happy for it.

6 episodes really? The CW execs don’t have a clue, didn’t they say they wanted to go into more of an adult direction. I have deemed the CW the tween network, because really that is all it airs, dumb tween dramas for teens. The over hyped Vampire Diaries is enough to make me puke. If I have to see another friggin picture of anorexic Nina Dobrev and her sappy pouty face, I might just gouge my eyes out. The we have a spin off? Really? Nikita and Supernatural were really the only shows for awhile that didn’t focus on teen based drama. Thank god they had the smarts enough to get a series like Arrow. While I am thrilled we get 6 episodes, I don’t think that is really giving the series a proper send off. I am hoping the new CW line up will be better.

I have watched The Vampire Diaries and it continues to go down hill. The story lines are so convoluted it’s pathetic. Really, the only first two seasons were worth my time. If I have to choose now, I watch Nikita over the Vampire Diaries.

I agree that the 1st two seasons were the best and this season was by far the worst…. and Nikita is hands down a better show…. but I don’t think TVD has anything to do with Nikita’s episode order or lack thereof. But that’s just my opinion.

TBH, Nikita is what kicked Supernatural to Fridays, where everyone assumed it was going to die a slow death. So I’m really enjoying watching Nikita fail and Supernatural still stay strong no matter how much they try to kill it.

Why do I think Reign after TVD is actually a good idea? The Originals wouldn’t have snagged TVD’s audience since those fanboys/girls would go on to twitter and talk about it to death. It wouldn’t have helped TO at all. But now CW can hope to have a good night on tuesday since many of TVD fans will have the time to check it out.

That sucks about having to wait until midseason for Star-Crossed but either way I’m looking forward to it. I’m surprised The Originals is on Tues Wow… but I guess it is good in a way. I think HOD and BATB will do fine cause both shows seem to have a loyal fanbase.

Wow this is by far the most interesting schedule set up this season. I like that they have moved HoD and paired it with BatB. Two irritating shows put together. I do think that not pairing The Originals with TVD is a mistake because with The Agents of SHIELD, it will be hard for The Originals to come out with a bang. Only time will tell with that one.
Excited for the Tomorrow People. It will do well post Arrow.

Makes total sense splitting up Vampire Diaries and the Originals. Chances are, if they were aired back-to-back, fans would watch one and not the other. Tuesday has historically been a very weak night for The CW, so placing two strong series there opposite NCIS will be great. Much strategic thought went into this schedule, that’s very much obvious.

Wow. Amazing. The CW managed to make every conceivable mistake with their schedule.

– They split up Arrow and SPN, their only strong pairing, which could damage Arrow.
– They continued putting new shows in the 9pm slot, which is tougher on The CW because the 8pm slot has the almost always higher-rated affiliates lead-in.
– Instead of putting The Originals after TVD, which made the most sense since THE WHOLE POINT of The Originals was something that’ll hold TVD’s audience, they put yet another new show in the post-TVD slot. Because 3 different shows (Nikita, TSC, BatB) that didn’t work there isn’t enough, apparently.

This network is going to crash and burn even further next season. And given their crappy treatment of Nikita all along, I really couldn’t care less. Once those measly 6 episodes they gave Nikita for a wrap-up are done, so I am. Sionara, crap network.

Yeah, this highly intelligent and substantial comment by you very much proves *I’m* the idiot and you’re smart. Maybe you should think twice before you tell anyone else what they should or shouldn’t be commenting on. And work on your manners while you’re at it.

There’s no telling whether or not Arrow needs SPN because it never aired without it except for its midseason finale (which was its lowest-rated episode in the first half of the season, with 1.0). SPN is a show that’s been all over the schedule and always succeeds, but Arrow hasn’t been tested in the same way. It’s not impossible for Arrow’s numbers to take a hit as a result of SPN moving (although it’s certain to still be one of their strongest shows).

It’s a risk either way, obviously, because if they kept Arrow and SPN paired they’d have to air two new shows together. I just think keeping the pairing intact and taking a risk with an all-new night would have been the smarter play, but mileage varies obviously.

Pretty solid schedule. I called the HoD/BatB move to Mondays as well as the Supernatural/Orignals pairing. There was no way the CW would launch The Originals after TVD. Wednesday was obviously gonna be Amell night..that family promotion is just too good. The only real surprises are Reign after TVD..didnt see that coming or The Carrie Diaries on Fridays.

the only reason I’m bummed about this is because next January I won’t have my uber!great tv night on Wednesday where I’d watch Criminal Minds while Supernatural recorded, then watch Supernatural while The Americans recorded, then watch The Americans. it was the best day! but I suppose Supernatural on Tuesdays after NCIS is all right, too. I’m just glad it’s still on.

I think they are betting that most TVD fans will watch the Originals, so they are splitting them up to have those pretty passionate viewers on two different nights, which hopefully means they will stick around for the shows that follow them. For me, it doesn’t matter what night any of the shows are on because CW shows are the ones I’m most likely to watch live over anything else. So whatever night my favorite shows are on, I’ll be watching!

Yes, it makes a lot of sense, agreed! Just, Superheroes + Supernatural is the strongest, best team the CW has ever had xD Plus, Supernatural will be opposite NCIS, now. I don’t know if I like that .-. (I also liked to watch both Supernatural and Arrow in the same day :P)

True, but I think they draw from different types of people in the same demo. I don’t know if the people who watch The Originals are the same people watching NCIS. I think it’s more likely that the people watching SHIELD are the same type of people watching The Originals.

some smart decisions. Hart of Dixie+Beauty and the Beast pair really well, despite the genre differences. And everything else looks smart too. Just worried about the Monday-night competition from the other networks.

TVD has had to go against some big competition itself and it has survived and been the cw number 1 show so don’t underestimate The Originals just because ABC’s Shield. I’m not saying the Shield won’t do good obv it will but I think most people are going WAY over board with how well it will do.. I’ve read some thinking over 30mil will watch the Shield and imo I don’t see it happening 15 if its lucky and even if it gets huge numbers doesn’t mean it will do any harm to The Originals or CW standards.

Oh, I don’t know, Beatrice, probably just to spite you. Sheesh. Why did CBS move 2.5 Men and Big Bang to Thursdays? Why did FOX move Bones to Thursdays? Why does ABC schedule DWTS so much? You act like every show and timeslot are set in stone forever. It’s all a chess game directed by professionals with facts and numbers guiding them. Ever think that maybe the network preferred you to watch both Tuesday and Wednesday, instead of just ONE night? Now you’re getting it, honey….just keep those wheels turning….

Judging by your posts you seem to feel an intellectual superiority; however, you just come across as petty and spiteful. Is it so difficult to make solid points without attacking? You seem like a sad and insecure person and I feel bad for you.

I personally believe that The CW should have paired it (after) Arrow for 12 episodes and then replaced it at midseason. Honestly, they should have seen how it went for the first 6 episodes and if it continued to disappoint after Arrow then announce it as the final season. I think it could have been a good pairing seeing as their both action series lead by great casts and amazing writers. A fourth season with 12 episodes would have been enough for now and then they could have renewed it for a full fifth season OR another 12 episode season if it worked out.

I’m bored to tears just *thinking* about The Originals. I don’t care about them on TVD now, and I doubt I’d care about them on their own either. I think SPN could be aired at 2 a.m. and their loyal fans (such as myself) would watch no matter what, but I don’t know if The Originals is going to draw in new SPN fans. And if you start watching SPN in Season 9 without having seen 1-8, you’re probably not going to get it anyway. Bottom line, I don’t think it will hurt SPN, and honestly? That’s all I care about. :)

I think they want fans from SPN to watch it since they know that a lot of TVD fans won’t because of that horrendous baby plot. But I still don’t think SPN fans will care about the Originals. I don’t see it surviving.

Does this mean that CW won’t let Rachel Bilson on HIMYM since they are competing? Because, I know they are doing 56 hours at the wedding, but I am pretty sure they have to bring her back now that we know the mother for at least a LITTLE bit.

I love Nikita and I’m glad it was renewed, but the only reason is was renewed was so that The CW could get it’s package deal of shows (‘The Tomorrow People’ and ‘The Hundred’) from The WB. It has nothing to do with the loyal fanbase. IF The CW was really caring for shows and “wrap ups” of series, 90210 would have gotten a short season. I sound like a bitter fan, but I enjoyed 90210 and do enjoy Nikita, so my comment is all that bias.

To be fair, the CW did decide to cancel 90210 with a lot of notice given to the show’s producers, writers, etc. Didn’t they announce the decision back in February or so? There was plenty of time to decide on an ending for the show, and its ratings were so poor that additional episodes weren’t deserved, IMO.

When cw announced 90210 was cancelled, the finale was written and like a week away from filming ,so no, the producers and writers didn’t get a lot of notice and had to scramble to rewrite the finale as a series finale but it still ended with one big sl unresolved.

really solid schedule from the CW. Use your two highest rated shows to launch your most promising. The only change i would make would be swapping Supernatural and The Original to use Supernatural as a lead in to launch The Original

Actually SPN is one of the networks top rated shows and I believe the schedule is solid yes and would have like Arrow and SPN to stay together, but get the split. I would not put SPN as a lead in for The Originals because SPN as myself would just watch SPN and not stick around for the 9 o’clock hour. However, I might tune in just to wait for my favorite show SPN.